Someone was paying attention!

I've been bringing my daughter to Mass with me for over eight years now, and while she is always very well behaved, sometimes I wonder if she is really paying attention. I know that listening to the priest's homily is tough for a child, even with the most entertaining speakers (yet every Superbowl Sunday she remembers the year Fr. Larry finished his homily wearing a large, plastic cheese-head).

A few weeks ago it was the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity, in which we celebrate the three-in-one nature of God - manifest in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Our wonderful pastor, Fr. John, had an excellent homily about how difficult it is to understand this mystery. I was certain that most of it went over my daughter's head, as it is a difficult concept to grasp.

That afternoon, I was wandering around Pinterist, and found a recipe for chocolate chip cookies with Reeses Pieces. Since we had a small bag leftover from Easter, I figured we should try them out. I didn't have all the ingredients, so I adapted here and there, using what I had in the pantry - the Reeses Pieces, milk chocolate chips and white chocolate chips. While we were waiting for them to come out of the oven, daughter looked at me and said, "We should call these Trinity Cookies, since they have three chips in one."

Guess I never should have doubted that she was paying attention.

And so, the good... these were really great cookies - soft and chewy, with just the right amount of chips distributed throughout.

And the bad... they took longer to cook than the original recipe called for, so they weren't really quick to make, but they were worth it.

Oh, and since I related this story to Fr. John, now I guess I have to share our Trinity Cookies with him when we make them next year!

Trinity Cookies

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup Reeses Pieces

1. Combine butter and sugar in a large bowl.
2. Add in vanilla and eggs; mix until combined.

 

3. Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Stir into wet ingredients until just combined.
4. Stir in chocolate chips and Reeses Pieces. Cover bowl and place in refrigerator for one hour.

 

 

5. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Scoop cookies and place dough on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-12 minutes, or until slightly browned around the edges.
6. Let cookies sit on baking sheet for one minute after removing from oven. Then move to wire rack and cool completely.

Inspiration for Moroccan Chicken

Last week my family vacationed at our favorite place... Walt Disney World. It's the perfect family vacation for us - my daughter loves the theme parks (so do we!), my husband gets to play golf, and I get plenty of pool time. One of the things I always try to do is make reservations for a nice meal at Epcot. I love ethnic foods, and really enjoy seeing my daughter test her food horizons beyond typical children's fare.
 
This year, I made reservations at Restaurant Marrakesh. I had eaten there long ago with my mom, but not yet with my husband and daughter. As luck would have it, my daughter's ballet costume for her recital the previous week was "Princess Jasmine" inspired. She wanted to wear it to dinner that night, and she received many smiles as she walked through the restaurant. As we were finishing our meal (wonderful!), the musicians and dancer came out, and my daughter joined the dancer for the last song. She was so beautiful out there dancing, and had so much fun! It was a vacation moment we will never forget.
 
While searching for what to cook this week, I found a pin I had from Pinterist for Moroccan Chicken. Given the wonderful meal we had the past week, I knew it was time to give it a try.
 
The good... this recipe rocks! It is one of my top finds on Pinterist, and it will go into heavy rotation because it is tasty, easy and everyone loved it. It has a ton of flavor, but it is not overpoweringly spicy or sweet.
 
The bad... only that there wasn't more to eat! Seriously, I used 3 very large (2 pounds) chicken breasts, and should have used 4. I will have enough for leftovers for husband and me, but daughter will have to have something else...
 
Note: this would be great over couscous, but my husband doesn't like it, so I served it over basmati rice.
 

Moroccan Chicken

adapted from food.com
 

• 1 onion (Yellow) 
• 4-5  boneless skinless chicken breasts, chopped into bite size pieces                           
• 1 tablespoonground coriander
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika                    
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon mccormick's montreal steak grill seasoning                    
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/8 teaspoonground cinnamon
• olive oil
• 1 cup chicken stock, from a box                    
• 3/4 cup raisins
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch           

     
1. Heat olive oil in a dutch oven over medium high heat.
2. Add onions and saute until translucent, stirring occasionally.
3. Add chicken pieces and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown.

4. Reduce heat to medium and add all the spices. Stir to combine. Cook about 60 seconds until fragrant.

5. Add chicken stock and raisins, stirring to combine.

6. Cover and reduce heat to simmer.
7. Cook for at least 15 minutes. The longer it cooks, the better the flavors will come together.
8. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch with some of the cooking liquid. Stir in the bowl, then pour back into the chicken mixture. Stir to combine. Keep simmering until the sauce thickens.

9. Serve over rice (or couscous).

      

Christmas Yule Log

For Christmas dessert this year, I wanted to make a traditional Yule Log to go along with our assortment of homemade cookies (assuming I keep one of my New Years resolutions - to update this blog more frequently - you may see these recipes here, too!). I had to adapt a Martha Stewart recipe I found, as my mom can't eat nuts. I also wanted something using Nutella, because, well, because it's Nutella. My little sous chef helped with the frosting and decorating on Christmas Day, which is really suprising given the fact she had so many new toys to play with.

So the good... this was one of the best desserts I think we've made. The sponge cake was so easy to make - I thought it would be tricky but it was so simple. It was beautiful and tasted great.

And the bad... nothing! Not one complaint or change I'd make the next time!

Side note... while preparing to make this I found that I have two cookie sheet pans and no jelly roll pans. So guess what is on my Christmas list next year... I just took the cookie sheet pan and stretched some crumpled tin foil across one end to make it approximately the size of a jelly roll pan and it worked perfectly.

 

Chocolate Yule Log

adapted from Martha Stewart

• Nonstick cooking spray, for pan
• 4 large eggs, separated
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
• Chocolate-Hazelnut Filling (see below)
• Hazlenut Buttercream Frosting (see below)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 10 by 15 inch jelly roll pan with nonstick cooking spray; line bottom with parchment paper. Coat paper with cooking spray. set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk egg yolks with 1/2 cup granulated sugar until pale yellow. Whisk in almond extract and flour just until combined (do not overmix); set aside.
3. Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites and salt until soft peaks form. While beating, slowly add remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar (1 tablespoon at a time) and beat until stiff and glossy. Whisk one third of beaten egg whites into yolk mixture; gently fold in remaining whites with a rubber spatula. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan; bake until center of cake springs back when lightly pressed; 15 to 17 minutes.
4. Immediately after removing cake from oven, run a knife around edge of pan. Dust top of cake with confectioners' sugar; invert cake onto clean parchment paper, and gently peel off the linging paper that's now on top of the cake. Starting from a short side of cake, gently roll cake, along with clean paper, into a log; let cool, seam side down, 30 minutes.
5. Once cake has cooled, prepare filling and frosting. Gently unroll cake, and spread with filling, leaving a 1/2 inch border; starting from a short side, carefully re-roll (do not roll paper in cake), and place, seam side down, on a baking sheet or serving platter. Spread log with frosting; sprinkle with shaved chocolate.
6. To serve, use a serrated knife to slice off the ends of the log neatly, revealing interior.

Chocolate-Hazelnut Filling
      

• 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin (from a 1/4 ounce envelope)
• 1/4 cup chocolate-hazelnut spread
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 1/4 cup sugar

1. Place 2 tablespoons cold water in a small saucepan; sprinkle with gelatin, and set aside to soften, about 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk chocolate-hazelnut spread with 1/4 cup cream; set aside.
3. Heat gelatin mixture very gently over low, stirring just until dissolved; set aside.
4. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat remaining 1 cup cream with sugar until soft peaks form. While still beating, pour dissolved gelatin mixture over cream all at once (gently reheat gelatin mixture if it has stiffened).
5. Fold half of whipped cream into chocolate-hazelnut spread mixture.

Hazelnut Buttercream Frosting
 
 
½ c butter, softened
½ c crisco
4 cups powdered sugar
pinch of salt
3 - 4 tablespoons hazlenut flavored coffee creamer
 
  
Beat butter until creamy. Add salt. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, beating until combined. Add creamer 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach desired consistency.